Welcome
Welcome to my Faith page! I greet you in the peace of Christ and hope that your stay will be enjoyable and blessed.
I began this Faith website in the early spring of 2001; I had already made a webpage about my poetry and interests, and it dawned on me that a website devoted to sharing my faith was a worthier idea. It has gone through several incarnations over the past few years, expanding and contracting and constantly evolving. In writing these pages I have grown in my own knowledge of the Catholic faith, and the efforts towards its completion have deepened my love for Christ and His Church. I have striven to be orthodox in the making of these pages, and I have also striven to be loyal to the Holy Father and the Magisterium in the content presented.
So, with the great joy that has come from writing these pages, I offer them to you in the hope that they will enlighten and educate faithfully. Their purpose is to share what I believe and what I have learned, in a simple and straightforward manner. I am neither theologian nor apologist, but I hope these pages will be effective in sharing my love of and joy in being Catholic.
Introduction
"And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Matthew 16: 18 - 19
Thus what we know as the Catholic Church was established by Christ, in the First Century. Down through the ages the Church has grown, endured and triumphed against persecution, war, plague, rebellion, corruption, and scandal. The Church is Divine, but her members are all too human: none of us is perfect, nor have we ever been. We all strive to obey Christ and His Commandments; we strive to find peace and meaning in this sometimes confusing, antagonistic world.
What are we Christians supposed to be? In ages past, the Christian was a holy warrior for God. I believe we still are, but not in the sense that we seek to convert by fire and sword, to conquer the world and force it to our rule. That is not what Christians are meant to be. We are the people of God, servants of Mankind, stewards of Creation; we are meant to be guardians of goodness and mercy. The true holy warrior has no need of arms or armor, does not seek power over earth or the heavens, and desires only to serve humbly and faithfully. The true holy warrior does not spread the Word of God through conquest and violence, but by the strength of his example.
That is what a Christian is meant to be.
Servants of Mankind, and stewards of Creation. There are two very old prayers that embody what Christianity means to me. The first is a prayer of service, asking God to aid us in seeking peace and harmony. The second is a prayer of defense, looking to God's beautiful and holy Creation as a bulwark against evil.
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Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi |
The Rune of St. Patrick |
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Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O, Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
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At Tara today in this fateful hour
I place all Heaven with its power,
And the sun with its brightness,
And the snow with its whiteness,
And fire with all the strength it hath,
And lightning with its rapid wrath,
And the winds with their swiftness along their path,
And the sea with its deepness,
And the rocks with their steepness,
And the earth with its starkness
All these I place,
By God's almighty help and grace,
Between myself and the powers of darkness.
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I was taught that the core of my religion is love: love for God, love for Earth, love for neighbor, love for enemy, love for everything that is good and beautiful. This page is meant to be an expression of love, as clear as I can make it.
Table of Contents
My faith website currently consists of the following pages:
| Journey |
My personal journey through the Catholic faith. |
| Prayers |
My favorite Catholic prayers. |
| Scripture |
My favorite verses from Holy Scripture. |
| Mary |
A page about my favorite saint, Mary, the Mother of God. |
| Links |
Links to external resources concerning the Catholic faith, the Church, Holy Scripture, and apologetics. |
Dedication
This webpage is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and to my mother, Suzanne Marie Hayes.
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These pages are dedicated on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in the Year of Our Lord MMVI
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
Quotations from the
Catechism of the Catholic Church are taken from the English translation, © 1994 The United States Catholic Conference, Inc. - Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Quotations from the documents of the Second Vatican Council are taken from
Vatican II: The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents, © 1975 Harry J. Costello and Rev. Austin Flannery, OP. English verses from Sacred Scripture are taken from
The Catholic Study Bible,© 1990 Oxford University Press, New York; Latin verses are taken from the
Latin Vulgate Bible. All other texts are cited individually on their respective pages. The cross on this page is © 2004 Patrick Michael Hayes; all other images in the Faith section are public domain.
